If you’re heading to the beach this Labor Day weekend, you might want to double-check local advisories. Dozens of popular U.S. beaches from San Diego’s Imperial Beach to Keyes Memorial in Cape Cod are under contamination warnings due to unsafe levels of fecal bacteria.
According to a July 2025 report by Environment America, 61% of tested beaches had at least one day with unsafe bacteria levels, with 453 beaches flagged as potentially unsafe for swimming at least 25% of the time tested.
Contributing causes? Failing sewer systems, stormwater runoff, and industrial livestock operations.
Avoid swimming within 72 hours of a storm, and skip any beach with cloudy, smelly, or discolored water.
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